Seed-drill.



Patented June 17, I902.

N L P A H c A SEED DRILL. (Application filed Jan. 2, 1901.)

3 Sheets-Sheet I,

(no Model.)

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'No. 702,402. Patented June I7, 1902.

A. CHAPLIN;

SEED DRILL.

(Application filed Jan. 2, 1901.)

s Sheets-Sheet 2.

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Patented lune I7, 3902. A. CHAPLIN.

SEED DRILL.

(Application filed Jan.

3 SheetsSheet 3.

(No Model.)

Jnveniar UNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

ALLEN CHAPLIN, OF WAL O TOWNSHIP, SUMNER COUNTY, KANSAS.

SEED-DRILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 702,402, dated June 17,90

Application filed January 2, 1901. Serial No. 41,804. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLEN OHAP IN, a citizen of the United States, and aresident of .Walton township, Sumner county, Kansas,

have invented a new and useful Seed-Drill, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to seed-drills; and it consists in certain noveland peculiar features of construction and combinations of parts, ashereinafter described and'claimed.

The object of the invention is to produce a seed-drill of simple,strong, and durable construction which shall operate efliciently uponany kind or condition of soil, by which the seed may be planted at auniform depth irrespective of the surface configuration or density ofthe soil and which is under perfect control of the driver at all times.

Other desirable objects are hereinafter enumerated, and in order thatthe invention may be fully understood reference is to be had to theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure lrepresents a vertical section ofa seed-drill, taken on the line I I of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is atop plan viewof the drill, partly broken away. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail viewshowing parts of the connection whereby the driver is enabled to raiseor depress the seed-planting mechanisms. Fig. 4 is a side view of oneelement shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of anotherelement shown in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged side elevationof the drillor condition.

4 of the frame.

10 designates a bracket depending from the tongue forward of the frameand provided with a'longitudinal series of perforations 11 and havingits lower end connected bya link 12 with the tongue, rearward of saidfront or body portion 4 of the frame, in any suitable manner. i

13 designatesalinkadapted for pivotal connection with any one oftheperforations 11; 14, a cliploosely connected to the link; 15, a

whiflietree pivoted in said clip, and 16 clips for the attachment ofsingletrees. (Not shown.) By this arrangement it is possible to soadjust link 13 upon perforated bracket 10 that practically a perfectbalance is secured and the draft-animals are relieved'almost entirely'ofneck weight, leaving them free to exert their full power in thepropulsion of the machine.

17 designates aspring-bar secured to the rear end of the tongue andcarrying a seat 18, as usual, at its upper end and within convenientreach of lever 19, projecting upward from the transverse rock-shaft 20,journaled in bearing-boxes 21, secured upon the rear ends of frame-arms5 and tongue 9, said lever being provided with the usual devices forcausing the engagement and. disengagement of the spring actuated pawl 22with the notched sector 23, secured to the tongue. 24 designates acrank-arm projecting from said shaft, near its center by preference, andconnected pivotally .by a link 25, with a similar crank-arm 27 of asecond transverse rockshaft 26, arranged forward of the axle andjournaled in bearing-boxes 28, secured to the cross-section to receivethe crank-arms 29, equal in number to and in longitudinal alinement withthe hose-pipes 8, the hub portions of said arms being provided withsectional boxings to enable the arms to be clamped rigidly on the shaft.At their free ends they are formed with bearings comprising theintegrally-formed portion 31 and the separable portion 32, provided withregistering grooves which conjointly form cylindrical passages 33, saidseparable portions or caps 32 being bolted to portions 31 as-at 34.Journaled in the cylindrical passages 33 of the arms are short bars 35,terminating at their ends in eyes 36 and formed with shoulders 37 topreventlongitudinal movement in said passages, and extending upwardlythrough the eyes of said bars, hereinafter termed eyebars, are pull andpush rods 38, having heads or enlargements' 39 at their upper ends toprevent any possibility of disengagement with the eyebars and collars orenlargements 40 near their lower ends to form abutments for theexpansive springs 41, spirally encircling the rods and bearing at theirupper ends against the under sides of the eyebars. The lower ends of thepull and push rods connected to they front shaft are preferably pivoted,as at 42, to the inner sides of frames 43, said frames each consistingof a pair of parallel bars 44, which in length exceed slightly thedistance between the rock-shafts and for the greater portion of theirlength extend approximately parallel with the surface of the ground,their rear ends occupying the same horizontal plane, if desired, thoughit is preferred to have the bars curve upwardly at their rear ends inorder to accommodate between them larger press or covering wheels 45than it would be possible to use if said bars were perfectly straight,as will be readily understood; these press-wheels having theirperipheries concaved to more efficiently perform their coveringfunction;

46 designates colters or cutting-wheels arranged at the front ends ofand betweenthe bars of frames 43, said colters having, preferably, coneor other bearings 47, made to exclude dust and dirt as far as possible,though I do not limit myself to any particular style. The bearings arecarried by clamping-bolts 48, pivotally uniting the front ends of frames43 with the rear ends of the parallel draftbars 49, said draft-barsextending upwardly and forwardly at a suitable angle, the major portionof the bars having their narrow edges occupying vertical planes, withthe corresponding edges of the front or small portion occupying ahorizontal plane, this result being attained by giving the bars a halftwist near their front ends, at which points they are rigidly secured inany suitable manner to the short sleeves 50, journaled upon the tubulardraft-rod 51, extending horizontally and transversely and carried at thefront ends of the brackets 52, depending from the side 53, preferably ofcast metal, being fitted upon the draft-rod between the pairs ofdraft-bars, as shown in Fig. 2, or in any other suitable or preferredmanner. The draft-rod is tubular, because of its greater strength andstiffness than a solid rod; but it is to be understood that I do'notlimit 'myself to any particular style of draft-rod, any particular wayof supporting the same, orany particular method of securing thedraft-bars thereto so as to possess the necessary vertical vibrationindependent of each other.

54 designates the drill-shoes, the same being carried by the frames 43between the colters 46 and the covering-wheels 45, and, like saidcolters and wheels, are preferably arranged between the draft-bars. Eachshoe consists of a thin quadrant-shaped front portion 55, having itscurved edge preferably struck from the same radius as the-colter andsharpened. From the lower point of the quadrant upon a vertical line theshoe is branched to form the walls 56, which diverge gradually rearwardand provide a chamber 57 between them.

58 designates the hose-cups, forming a part of the shoes and receivingthe lower ends of the hose-pipes. The hose-cups are provided with. aportion depending below the upper edge of said walls, the same beingtriangular in plan view, withits sloping sides bifurcated, as at 59, soas to snugly clasp the upperedges of said walls both internally andexternally, the inner portion 60 of said triangular portion extendingdown below the outer portion 61 to receive the rivets 62, projectinginwardly from said walls, and in this connection it will be noticed thatthe transverse or rear wall of the inner portion forms a closure for afew inches atthe upper end of thelrearwardly opening chamber 57 betweenthe walls 56, and projecting rearwardly from said transverse wall andfrom the cup is a rib or flange 63, having a vertical series ofperforations 64. To secure each shoe rigidly in position, a bolt 65extends through the corresponding frame 43 and one or another of theopenings 66 in the front edge of the shoe, a similar bolt 67, carried bysaid frame, extending through one of the perforations 64 of thecup-flange, suitable spacing-sleeves 68 being fitted upon the boltsbetween the sides of the frame and the shoe to hold it rigidly inalinement with the corresponding colter and covering-wheel.

The drawings show the machine as embodying a gang of ten sets ofplanting mechanisms arranged to vibrate vertically independently of eachother to automatically adapt themselves to irregularities in the surfaceover which they pass, together with means whereby the drivermay raise ordepress the entire gang simultaneously and gage the depth at which theseed is to be planted. This permits of the seed being planted atdifierent depths in the. same field, so as to accommodate varying kindsand conditions of soil.

In traveling to and from the field and also to avoid obstructions thedriver raises the gang to an inoperative position, as shown by dottedlines in Fig. 1, this result being effected a narrow gash or cut of thedesired depth in the ground and serve to sever sod and clods.

or lumps of earth in the path of the machine.

The narrow front portions of the'shoes, following immediately in thewake of the colters,

travel with practically no resistance in the narrow grooves made by thecolter-s, serving to keep the same open and prevent the dirt fallingtherein, the diverging rear walls 56 serving to increase the width ofthe furrow or groove as slightly as possible and yet hold the walls ofearth sufficiently apart to permit the seed dropping in the usual mannerfrom the seedbox through the intermediate devices to attain the properdepth, when the earth, all resistance being removed, falls inward andcovers the seed by filling up the furrows or grooves. that, like thecultivator-shovel or the moldboard of a plow, the shoes have thedivergence of their walls 56continue to their rear edges, so that inpassing through the earth they will scour and clear themselves of soil,for the rea son that as long as in action they are pressing against thesoil. If said diverging walls should be bent so as tohave their rearwalls extending parallel, they would impose practically no pressure uponthe walls of earth previously separated by the diverging portions oftheshoes. As a consequence upon their parallel walls mellow damp soilwould accumulate, at first at their extremerear edges and then graduallyforward, until the diverging walls and forward portions were reached andcovered, thereby materially increasing the draft and thewidth of thegroove or furrow.

The concave covering-wheels, following immediately in the wake of theshoes,press the loose earth firmly down into the grooves or furrows inthe usual manner. In case exceptionally hard obstructions are metsuch,for instance, as rocks projecting, perhaps, only slightly from thegroundthe springs 41 of the planting mechanisms encountering suchobstruction or obstructions will yield andpermit such mechanisms to rideover said ohstruction or obstructions without injury and Withoutinterfering'with the operation of the other seed-planting mechanisms,this independent automatic action being essential, as many obstructionsare encountered which the driver fails to observe, who, if he did andwished to avoid contact with them, would be In this connection it willbe noted compelled to elevate all for the purpose of avoiding anobstruction in the pathof one.

By means of the draft-bars49 it will be noted that the draft ontheplanting mechanisms isobtained from a point forward'of the same, so asto-eliminate any lateral strain upon the pull and push rods 38, leavingsaid rods free to perform their proper functionnamely, to pull theplanting mechanisms upward or, through the instrumentality of springs4l,to push them yieldingly downward,

the intensity of such pressure being regulated, of course, by theposition in whichthe lever 19 is locked onthe sector by the dog 22. Bymeans of said lever the driver can force said mechanisms into anyreasonable seedbed and gage the depth of out very accurately,

so-that it will be uniform in soils of substantially the same kind andcondition, or, if

needed, practically the entireweight' of the machine can be evenlydistributed upon the planting mechanism, this being efiected bydepressing thesamesufficiently to transfer most of the weight of theframe and drivewheels to the rock-shafts 26 by throwing the leverforward a sufficientdistance.

From the above description it will be apparent that I haveproduced aseed-drill embodying the features of advantage enumerated as desirableinthe statement of invention, and while the preferred embodiment of theinvention is describedand shown it is to be understood that it issusceptible of various changes in the form, proportion, detailconstruction, and arrangement of the parts without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention. 1

Having thus described the invention, what Iclaim as new, anddesire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a seed-drill, the combination of a wheeled frame, havingseed-droppingmechanism, a seed-planting mechanism'belowand connected'tothe same, comprisingacolter at its front end, a covering-wheel atits'rear end, a shoe between and in line with the colter andcovering-wheel and providedwith a seed-cup, and parallel bars connectingthe shoe, the colter, and the covering} wheel, headed rods pivotedattheir lower ends to andnear the opposite end of said bars, and providedwith shoulders, an eyebar slidingly connecting said rods, spiralexpansive springs upon saidrods and engagingsaid shoulders and eyebarsat their opposite ends, a pairof rock-shafts provided with crank-armspivotally connected to Saidbyebars at their free ends, and meanstooperate said rock-shafts tween said furrow making and closing de- IIOvices and consisting of a perforated thin front portion arrangedcentrally of said bars, a branched rear portion, a hose-cup surmountingand adapted to discharge into the chamber 5 formed between the branchesor walls of the rear portion, and provided with a rearwardlyprojectingperforated rib, a clamping-bolt extending through said bars and one ofthe perforations of the front portion, sleeves upon said IO bolt betweensaid portion of the shoe and said bars, a clamping-bolt extendingthrough said bars and one of the perforations of the rib, and sleevesupon said bolt between said rib and said bars, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature 15 in the presence of twowitnesses.

ALLEN OHAPLIN. WVitnesses:

E. L. GRAY, MERRITT J EFFRIES.

